Regionally significant ecological areas

Metro area assessment results

In 2003 DNR Central Region conducted a landscape scale assessment of the seven-county metropolitan area to identify terrestrial and wetland areas of ecological significance. Areas include places where intact native plant communities and/or native animal habitat are still found in the region and continue to provide important ecological functions such as:

Habitat for game and non-game, including threatened, endangered, and special concern animals.

Assessment results

DNR Central Region identified regionally significant natural resource areas using habitat models. (See the entire assessment methods.) Based on this coarse filter assessment, it is estimated that approximately 280,000 acres of regionally significant habitat remain, which is 15% of the total land area in the seven-county metropolitan region.

About 52% of the 280,000 acres of regionally significant habitat, or 130,000 acres, included regionally significant wetlands and open water. Of this, 50,000 wetland acres fall outside protected park status. This suggests that 18% of regionally significant wetland areas require protection if they are to retain their high ecological significance.

Forests

Regionally significant forested areas comprise 33% of the total remaining natural land cover in the seven-county metropolitan region.